FIRST Technology Challenge

FIRST Tech Challenge is so excited about the release of the revamped and updated FTC Mentor Manual ! In addition to necessary updates, we added a ton of useful information on teambuilding, fundraising, conflict management, team longevity, writing a business plan, press release, the Engineering Notebook, and loads more. Here’s a quick tour of what you will find in the new manual. Hyperlinks - they are everywhere, connecting you to documents, web pages, videos, and other places in the Mentor Manual for quick navigation. Pictures and examples – this is a real visual guide, similar to an interactive textbook, including call-out boxes with tips! Loads of information - It’s a big file, but it can be broken up into five sections:   Getting Started- Includes: Season Timeline, the Mentor Role, Registering the Team, Funding the Team, and FTC in the Classroom. Teambuilding and Team Management - Includes: Building the Team, Team Meetings, Team Roles, Teambuilding, and The Engineering Noteboo

Photo credit: Scott W. Nichols from the The Webb School “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Who hasn’t been asked that a million times by adults? And when we were little, we would answer that question with whatever felt right to us in the moment: “Unicorn.” “Fire fighter.” “Astronaut.” "Superhero" “Ballerina.” “Doctor.” "Teacher." And we knew in our heart that we could be the thing we wanted to be, and more often than not we were encouraged to pursue our dreams. And when our dreams changed, we wholeheartedly pursued the new dream. And then one day the question became harder to answer. Why? We live, we learn, and we start to judge what our heart wants as attainable or not based on our beliefs about ourselves and our ability to achieve the dream. A boy dreaming of being a ballerina might only see pictures of girl ballerinas and develop the belief that boys can’t be ballerinas. Or a girl might dream of being an astronaut until someone says, “Girls with glasses

The FIRST Tech Challenge community is composed of thousands of amazing teams and people. These folks are changing their own lives, their communities, and the culture of our world by celebrating STEM and spreading Gracious Professionalism . In addition to building and competing with a robot, each season teams log hundreds of hours of community service hours, demonstrating that FIRST is definitely More Than Robots . We’ve collected just a few stories of FIRST Tech Challenge teams making it loud by giving back to their communities. Since 2012, FTC Team #6055 the Gearticks have been an exhibitor at Boston’s First Night activities attended by almost a million people each year. Several FIRST teams get together to exhibit their robots and allow those new to FIRST to have a hands on experience driving robots. The Gearticks love “being able to connect with hundreds of kids and their parents and share their passion for robots. We also get the chance to hang out with other FIRST teams, di